Lip Sync Excersise

Lip Sync Excersise

Last Monday, we had a three hour session in which we practised using some of the equipment that we are going to use when filming our final music video and the basics of how to edit a music video. We started by getting into 3 groups and one by one we would have a go at filming or performing on each set. The three sets involved:

• A few panels with neon lights in which we used a dolly on a track to achieve smooth tracking shots.

• A sofa which was placed in front of a green screen with which the camera was levelled with the eye
   line of people seated on the sofa

• A small 'apartment' set in which the camera was at eye line level of a standing performer.

Before beginning to film anything, we had to assign certain roles to people such as the director, cameraman, performer(s), floor manager and playback operator. The director would inform the performers and cameraman of what they wanted to achieve from each shot, the cameraman and performers would do so, the playback would play the song and the floor manager would ensure that every group was ready and initiate the filming. The playback would involve a timer that before each shot, each group would focus on before realigning and focusing our camera on the performers on the set that we were using. Before the song would start, we would hear a bass drum and then two beats from a snare drum and then the song would begin. The reason why focusing on the playback is important is because when it comes to editing all our footage, the timer would help us sync our footage to the song. On a set like the green screen, we couldn't focus on the playback because the camera was

facing the opposing direction so we couldn't use the visual cue. Instead, we would have to listen in for the bass and snare drums to sync the footage. This was quite tricky because hearing the snare and finding the exact moment to align the footage with was more complicated than we'd anticipated. The floor manager would have to ask every group if they were ready for another take and when they were they would call 'standby, roll camera, action' with all the groups responding where necessary.

My group started off on the set with the dolly where I started off as the cameraman. What I thought was the hardest thing about this set was trying to keep in time with the performer. If the were walking forwards or backwards, it would be hard to try and keep up with them because the person pushing the dolly wouldn't always be able to push fast or slow enough. Eventually we tried some shots where there were four people standing in a row with the camera tracking past them all. These were the shots that my group clearly got most comfortable with because, when getting back in the editing suit, we found an awful lot of them. 

When going onto the set with the green screen and the sofa, we were a bit stuck on ideas, a lot of our shots were very similar simply having a few people sat on the sofa lip syncing. We kept trying to find more create and original ways to use the set such as having the performers sit upside-down on the sofa or have a load of people jump on the sofa all at once. This was probably the set that I felt most limited by however, there were a few decent shots that came from it.

The final set that we went on was the 'apartment set'. This was the set where again I felt fairly limited however the performers would be far more creative than in the set with the green screen. The camera was at a height to match the eye line of the performers and was positioned quite far back so we were able to 

have a lot of people in each shot. 

When it came to editing, it was interesting to see how different the initial process is compared to editing a thriller. Instead of being able to simply place any shot into the timeline, we had to sync it up with the song and label every shot very specifically so that our rushes would be organised. I found the syncing quite tedious but I know that it's vital in order to make the dancing and lip syncing to correspond with the song. One thing that I found hard to keep track of was the continuity. Often there were shots that we thought would be really good to use at certain points in the song but unlike the openings, we had three different sets and often we would use one tracking shot and then cut into another but going in the other direction or with the performers doing different things. Continuity wise these cuts simply wouldn't look good so we would have to try out various shots before we were happy to move on. Another thing that I became more aware of was that when editing to a song, the cuts will look cleaner if you do coordinate them with the beats in the music. However, when doing this you have to be careful to not make the cuts too predictable because it can then become boring. 

Overall, I think that myself and the people who I worked with successfully learnt how to use the various equipment and feel prepared to shoot our own videos. The one main thing that I'll need to make sure I do when filming next time is make sure I don't get too caught up in what the performers are doing and make sure that I get a wide, mid and close up of most of the shots. When it comes to editing, I wouldn't necessarily have the issue of continuity because I could cut from a wide to close or mid to wide or any other combination. 

 

Practise Album Artwork: Analysis

Practise Album Artwork: Analysis

One of the first decisions I made when approaching this task was whether I want the artists to be featured on the album or whether I wanted it do be more symbolic. Both options have different conventions, presenting the artist as either someone who makes their music to improve or manipulate their star image by appearing on the album as a selling point or if their true focus is within the music, which can be shown through not exhibiting themselves. I decided to use a photo in which you could see the artist in order to try and establish a closer link between the artist and their audience however, unlike many album photos, my artists isn’t looking or angled directly towards the camera, instead she is looking past the camera to the left creating some distance. Arguably, this could appeal to the second of Dyer’s paradoxes in which he states that an artist should be ‘both present and absent’. By having the artist as a feature, she is present yet there is an element of discretion as she’s not entirely open with the audience.

For For the background, I increased the saturation slightly to heighten the already bold orange and green colours which would attract the public eye as well as connote the artists originality and discretion as this contrasts to the colours that present her. Through the use of symbolic conventions such as her all black costume a colour that is often associated with a genre of music such as indie rock, she is presented as quite mysterious assisting the star image that I’ve created. The colour of her eyes and of her hair in certain places assists the background colours making the album appealing to an audience but also connotes the artists vibrant personality that would no doubt be reflected in her music.

For my artist, Tris Akyro, her primary target audience would be teenagers and young adults because not only do people within this age range amalgamate to create the largest consumer cohort, they are also the people who tend to choose indie rock over other genres. The conflicting ideas within the album cover would appeal to this audience as teens and young adults are, as Dyer thinks, more ‘rebellious’ and ‘anti authoritarian’ which can be seen by the dynamic contrast in colours but also the authoritarian font and how that contrast with the non archetypal angle with which the artists is being presented. The presence of the artist would attract women in this demographic as they stereotypically look for music that presents them with a star image that the can relate or aspire towards. People are attracted to albums sometimes just as they are to a book that has an interesting cover, if they see an artist that they like the look of, they will likely buy it without conventionally being attracted to that specific genre.

Overall, I think that as a first attempt, I created an album that presents all the necessary information as well as creating a positive star image for ‘Tris Akyro’. However, for my final product, I will need to take into consideration how even the slightest change can alter the genre perceived through the artwork. Anything such as the colour scheme or even the saturation of the predominant colours can alter it quite extensively. For this artwork I think I found a good balance between colours and through the composition, created an artists that attracts her target audience as well as appealing to certain aspects of a theory such as Dyer’s.

Practise Album Artwork: Process

Practise Album Artwork: Process

To display my process in creating a draft album cover and back, I used a software called 'Genially':

Practise Album Artwork: What is on/included

Practise Album Artwork: What is on/included

The key information included on an album will nearly always include:

• Artist’s/band’s name
• Album name
• Warning (if necessary) ‘Explicit Content’ or ‘Parental Advisory’ 
• Label (usually logo as well)
• Legal info:
• copyright
• year
• studio
• producers/writers etc
• Artwork/photo that reflects the artists ‘star image’ and genre
• Track/song list
• Barcode 

An album cover's purpose is to:

• Attracts audience
• Suggest genre
• Markets/sells the artist
• Builds ‘star image’
• Form of exhibition

Practice Website: My Decisions

Practice Website: My Decisions

For my practise, I chose to use Maverick Sabre, an indie pop artist who sways slightly towards rap as well. He is quite a nominal artist when it comes to his general presentation which contrasts to the passion that he throws into his music.

The first decision that I made was the template with which I made my site. I chose the layout named ‘Single Release’ over others because I liked the simplicity of it because I think it gave off a sense of minimalism which I think is reflected in the artist, Maverick Sabre’s album. 

I began editing the site by changing the background. A lot of the songs in Sabre’s recent

album, ‘Lonely Are The Brave’, involve emotional yet emotionless criminal events committed where he grew up in Hackney Central, London. So, I thought that having the background as a photo of a London city scape would connote the genre of the album as well as the personal connection that the album has to his past. After making this change, I disagreed with the symbolic connotations I had creates as I felt that the colours and regularity of the buildings created too strong a sense of structure an consistency which, within his album, I don’t think he conforms to. I tried a few more ideas that accommodate the indie pop/rap genre with various photos of Maverick himself however with the music video in the centre of the page, a photo of him was simply lost behind it. I then thought that I could use a photo of him but split the screen into 9 sections, leaving the central one for the video. As I was approaching this, the idea of using a small clip from a music video instead. After applying this and then finding the correct music video, I was happy with the overall colour scheme and with how I was presenting the artist. By doing so, I think I appealed to traits of Dyer’s star theory by making him seem original whilst connoting a sense of success against the odd. I think that my portrayal of Sabre would attract his target audience because it's visually enticing and gives them easy access to more products such as his music video and tickets for his tours and well as advertising his social media pages.

Below is the link to my completed website for Maverick Sabre:

https://oripooles.wixsite.com/mavericksabre

Practise Website: My Process

Practise Website: My Process

In order to get to know and understand the software which we will be using to create our final websites, I created a homepage for an artist named Maverick Sabre. Here is my process:

I began by login in and selecting the most suitable category, music.

After this, I had to choose either an artist or a band that I was creating a homepage for. I decided to go for a solo artist and selected the template named 'Single Release' to do so.

From there, I changed the background, the video and the text alongside it's colour to better suit my chosen artist, Maverick Sabre.

I then went on to change the colour for the background of the tour date section to better accompany the colour scheme of the video and background I'd chosen. After, I changed the colour and font of the text.

I began by login in and selecting the most suitable category, music. One of the final additions that I made was adding Maverick Sabre's social media such as Facebook, Instagram  Twitter and YouTube.

Here was the final outlook of my homepage. The background changes so here are a variety of photos:

I often get nervous about using new software but Wix wasn't too difficult. However, when it came to selecting photos and an appropriate template that would allow me to create the 'star image' and to help conform to the correct conventions of the genre, I struggled in creating the correct colour scheme and style for Maverick Sabre. When constructing my final website for the artist that I'll create, I will have greater access to a larger variety of relevant images specifically designed for the website and campaign in general. 

I feel I did overcome this however mainly through trial and error with various photos and colours such as the lower half of the site and displays the tour dates. Originally, that menu bar was white with quite a low opacity which I didn't think suited the colours that I was presenting in the background. So, I tried out some other colours and came to the conclusion that a dark blue would suit the site best however I decided to keep the opacity low to see the clip that is shown in the background through the blue.

What went well for me was not hesitating and getting anxious about a new program. WIX was very easy to use with the pre made templates but it was also easy to change and experiment with the templates and create something original.

Practise Website: How Are They Used?

Practise Website: How Are They Used?

Websites allow information about an artist/band, to be updated and edited constantly whilst still being a very cheap and easy way to market and distribute the product to an international audience. 

The home page needs to be visually appealing in order to entice an audience to make them want to look into the website further. These days, people often just look at the home page of a website and if it’s not appealing or difficult to navigate won’t continue viewing the site. It's like judging a book by it's cover, if it's not alluring, people simply won't look further.

The home page of a musicians website need to have pictures and other visually appealing attributes such as the bands name clearly shown and their social media in order for audience members to have the opportunity to feel closer to the artist. They should also have information or links that could take them onto further parts of the website to view their tour dates or a blog. 

In the homepage for Biffy Clyro, the band are the focus point being clearly visible in the centre of the site. The strong use of the colour black throughout makes them seem more significant as that's where our eye is draw but suits the minimalistic convention of their album and 'star image' in general. The lead singer is shirtless, allowing his tattoos to be revealed. This could appeal to their target audience because, being a rock band, their audience would likely find similar things appealing such as tattoos. It also adds a sense of rebellion, another feature that Richard Dyer states is enticing for audiences.

On the other hand, The Lumineers website doesn't show any of the band directly, only a silhouette of the lead singer from a frame in their music video. Although the band aren't shown, the minimalistic nature of the homepage is also successful in appealing to their target audience. 

The main similarity between the two is the minimalistic features which they both use despite being bands from two distinctly different genres. Information about their music, tour dates and other elements of their 'image' are linked to clearly in the home pages making them easy to access. The most significant difference is that in the Biffy Clyro homepage, all three members of the band are clearly visible suggesting that they are in a way quite vain whereas the absence of the band in The Lumineers page suggests that there is more to their product than their 'star image’.

I find that the The Lumineers page is more enticing with the colours used and with the lack of the band members themselves, personally, it makes me want to look further into their site and their music. The Biffy Clyro page is successful in creating their star image and alluring the audience but I find the black overwhelming and almost too basic.

Music Video Analysis: 'Like A Prayer'

Music Video Analysis: 'Like A Prayer'

A music video is one of the three elements that create a successful music campaign and is the one that allows audiences to feel as though they’re getting closer to the artist. The main purposes of a music videos are to attract audience members to buy the album or single, to market and increase sales for the product and to build or create an artist’s/band’s ‘star image’. The music video usually reflects the genre and personality of the album and artist however, in Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’ video, the genre and her reputation where deeply effected. Much of the music in the 80s was very similar with the same upbeat and happy feel which as a song, ‘Like a Prayer’ does somewhat conform to but her video made a huge statement by being seen, even today as the most controversial music video of all time. Many people think that her decision to make a scandalous video stemmed from the idea that products that are more defamatory equate to greater success. The video emphasises key elements of Richard Dyer’s star theory referring to a set of traits that together construct a commodity that labels exploit to make money. The binary opposite between her religion and rebellion created a very disjointed presentation of Madonna that intrigued audiences and thus, created a greater pool of consumers.

Through the use of costume, Madonna is presented as controversial and promiscuous. She wears a red dress that emphasises her physical attributes which, especially in the 80s would have been extremely inappropriate. This is contradicted however, with the necklace that she wears with a crucifix pendant. This binary opposite symbolically connotes both Madonna’s religious and yet rebellious mannerisms, which to a young audience of the time, would be appealing as they too would feel rebellious listening to an artist with such a controversial stigma. This is reinforced by the use of technical conventions such as close ups which revealing her seemingly innocent facial expressions at the beginning and then her insubordinate later on.

One of the most controversial elements of the video are the burning crucifixes that Madonna dances in front of. This symbolic convention has direct links to the extremest Christian organisation, the ‘KKK’, that would light a crucifix on fire on the land of a black person who’s family member they had or were going to burn or lynch. By dancing in front of the crosses, Madonna was associating herself with this extremist cause which would have

in turn, effected her image. Whilst dancing in this bizarre setting, Madonna is presented as superior through the use of technical conventions such as low angle shots and long shots. Many audience members may feel that this radical decision would make them feel distanced from Madonna causing a decline in her following however, by being so vexed, young audiences would be attracted to the traits in which they have in common with her, in this example the key similarity is their rebellious nature and as teenagers and young adults form the largest consumer category, being frowned upon by older audiences wouldn’t have effected her name.

The presentation of race throughout the video is contentious and especially in the 80s would have been highly scandalous. Within the video there is a gang murder that takes place in front of Madonna. The attackers are all white males and are brutalising a white female. As they run away, a black male enters and runs to help the woman however, when the police arrive, they arrest him instead of the true assaulters. The use of lighting when

he’s arrested emphasises the issue of racial profiling by condemning an assumed attacker because he’s black even though he was trying to help, would have really tackled the racial stigma of black people in the 80s. Black people in the 80s would have only ever been perceived as dangerous and irrational so to present them as the hero would have been very surprising. So, when Jesus and God are played by a black male and female, Christian audience members would have been very perturb. Not only were their deities black but to have God as a woman was completely unheard of. This juxtaposed presentation of race assists in the scandalous image that Madonna was creating for herself. 

The relationship between Madonna is suggested to be more intimate than anticipated through use of technical conventions such as close ups and panning shots that present them to be sexually attracted to one another. The idea of having an amorous relationship with a deity would have repelled older audiences and would suggest a sense of godliness in Madonna. This is supported by the stigmata created on her hands when she picks up the a knife from where Jesus was stood. The stigmata connotes that she is ‘saint-like’ and as someone who is pushing all the boundaries within religion in her video, ‘saint-like’ is probably one of the last phrases that would be used to describe her. 

Star Theory: Richard Dyer

Star Theory: Richard Dyer

Statistically, who are some of the current artists who're seen as the biggest stars in the music industry?

• Adele
• Justin Bieber
• Beyonce
• Ed Sheeran
• Bruno Mars

What do they all have in common?

• Young (or were when they began to gain an audience)
• Rebellious
• Sexual magnetism
• Anti- authoritarian attitude
• Originality
• Creativity/ talent
• Aggression/anger
• A disregard for social values relating to drugs, sex and polite behaviour
• Conspicuous consumption of sex, drugs and material goods
• Success against the odds
• Single artists
• Huge fan base
• Multiple albums
• The engage with the audience - rebellious 
• Sponsors and management 

For the most part, these traits reflect that of teenagers, the largest consumer category. They tend to express an exaggerated image of you. Consciously or subconsciously these features echo our own.

The term ‘star’ refers to the semi-mythological set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a larger and loyal audiences. Although we may not know these artists personally, we feel a connection to them because we have common attributes.

This connection helps sell the artist, tickets for concerts and merchandise. This star image attracts you to this big events and to buy the stars clothing. Big concerts are important to artists and record labels because so many people gain access to music illegally that concerts are important. 

Richard Dyer’s Theory:

• Dyer has written extensively about the role of starts in film, TV and music.

• Irrespective of the medium, stars have some key features in common:

• A star in an image, not a real person, that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials  (e.g videos, artwork, performances, media appearances.

• Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.

• Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media- magazines, TV, radio, the internet- in order to construct an image for themselves which can be marketed to their target audiences.

• The star image in made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences.

• Every star has their selling point  and that’s what the industry/media push.

USP: Music star VS Film star

It helps if their image contains a USP- they can be copied and/or parodied because o it. Their representation ay be metonymic- Madonna’s conical bra in the early 1990s, Bono’s ‘Fly’ sunglasses, Britney’s tummy, Justin Bieber’s hair.

Pop stars have the advantage over film stars in that their constructed image may be much more consistent over a period of time, and is not dependant on the creative input of others (e.g. screenwriters writing their lines).

Film stars are often seen with musicians in the media because arguably, musicians have bigger and stringer fan bases due to their consistent image whereas an actor is constantly being represented in various ways through their character.

1. The star as a construction 

The images of the artists that we are shown through advertising, television, magazines ext have been created by their management. For example, Miley Cyrus’ image changed significantly from her Hannah Montana to her more recent style. This change refuelled her image and enabled her to regain the media converge she needed to become a star. It’s argued as to whether Miley really wanted to make such a significant change and if it was the label that made her do it.

2. The star as a commodity

The star has been constructed by their record label to appeal to their target audiences. Certain music magazines feature bands or artists on the front cover as they image becomes the commodity that will attracts the target audience to buy the music magazine. Artists such as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have refused many record deals as they don’t want their image to be controlled. Therefore all their success in theirs

3. The star as an ideology

This is what the bend or artists represents and believe in, they could make this fit the target audience to gain a larger audience. The Spice Girls represent girl power and friendship.

Paradoxes of star theory

Fundamentally, the star image is incoherent, that is incomplete and ‘open’. Dyer says that this os because it is based upon two key paradoxes.

1. The star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer. They have to be original but not so much that consumers cannot relate to them.
2. The star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer. They are constantly represented in the media and in our lives but they still have some privacy. They’re still normal people.

The Star Image

• The incoherence if the star image ensures that audiences continually strive to ‘complete’ or to ‘make sense of’ the image.
• This is achieved by continued consumption of the star through his or her products.
• In the music industry, performance seems to promise to completion of the image, but it is always ultimately unsatisfying.
• This means that fans will go away determined to continue consuming the star in order to carry on attempting to complete their image.

What Is A Music Campaign?

What Is A Music Campaign?

This presentation was completed by both myself and Harry Gale.

My Taste In Music

My Taste In Music

I don't feel that my taste in music really fits into a single category. Through influence from my parents, I listen to quite a lot of music from the 60s- 80s, however when not listening to that I listen to either acoustic music or indie/rock. 

Two of my favourite indie/rock bands are 'Milky Chance' and 'The Vaccines'. I own the latest album by The Vaccines, English Graffiti, however when listening to Milky Chance's music I usually use streaming apps such as Spotify. I found out about The Vaccines when I was quite young from my sister who I take a lot of influence from when choosing music. However, I heard about Milky Chance from a friend after they played a song from they recent album, Blossoms. I'm yet to see either of them live but I hope to in the near future. 

I think that Milky Chance's music video for their song 'Blossom' suit and conforms with the colour scheme and genre presented in their album cover and website however I feel that the style and themes presented don't quite work. When listening to the song, I was under the impression that it was quite up beat so it would have as certain uplifting tone but after watching their video, my perception of the song, making me focus more so on the lyrics than the music itself.

In contrast, The Vaccines's videos to 'Handsome' and 'Dream Lover' don't really correlate colour and genre wise however the tone and themes presented did. The songs are quite upbeat and fun which is reflected in the space/mythical genre presented. This was an effective and creating way of engaging their target audience by giving them a narrative to follow rather than just the song.

Introduction To A2

Introduction To A2